Finance

JET-A1, Others May Push Flight Above N100,000 – Domestic Airlines
Finance, News, Nigeria, Transportation

JET-A1, Others May Push Flight Above N100,000 – Domestic Airlines

Domestic airlines under the aegis of the Airline Operators of Nigeria have said that rising operational costs occasioned by aviation fuel price hikes, foreign exchange shortage, among others may push the base economy flight ticket to N100,000. The spokesperson for local airlines/Chairman, United Airlines, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, made the disclosure during an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday in Abuja. Aside from the lingering aviation price hike crisis, the airline chief said local operators were being compelled to source foreign exchange from the parallel market at high rates due to a lack of adequate supply from the Central bank of Nigeria via the commercial banks. Consequently, he said an increase in the base economy flight ticket to at least N100...
EFCC Arrests Accountant General, Idris For Alleged N80b Fraud
Corruption, Finance, News, Nigeria

EFCC Arrests Accountant General, Idris For Alleged N80b Fraud

EFCC Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested serving Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, in connection with diversion of funds and money laundering activities to the tune of N80 billion. He was arrested yesterday in Kano State and was immediately moved to Abuja last night. EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest in a statement. He said the funds were allegedly laundered through real estate investments in Kano and Abuja. “The Commission’s verified intelligence showed that the AGF raked off the funds through bogus consultancies and other illegal activities using proxies, family members and close associates,” Uwujaren said. According to sources, after progress was made in the investigation, Idris was su...
Buhari Begs ASUU To Call Off Strike
Education, Finance, News, Nigeria

Buhari Begs ASUU To Call Off Strike

ASUU Logo President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities to consider the plight of students and call off the ongoing strike. The President also urged students in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions to exercise patience as the government strives to address the nagging issues in the nation’s university system within the ambit of the resources available. He made the appeal at the 19th National Productivity Day and the conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award to 48 eminent Nigerians and organisations in both the public and private sectors, for their high productivity, hard work, and excellence. This was contained in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘At National Productivity Day Awards, Presiden...
Fund Varsities From N4tn Subsidy Budget, ASUU Tells FG
Education, Finance, News, Nigeria

Fund Varsities From N4tn Subsidy Budget, ASUU Tells FG

ASUU The President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, has accused the Federal Government of not giving priority to tertiary education. According to him, the government had addressed the issue of fuel subsidy with a budget of N4trillion, whereas, it ignored issues concerning university education. Speaking during a programme on Channels Television on Wednesday, Osodeke asked the government to take N200bn from the N4trillion budgeted for subsidy to address the challenges of its members, thereby putting an end to the industrial action embarked upon by the union. Osodeke said, “It is always funny that the government cannot raise N200bn to revamp all Nigeria’s universities annually, to world standards. The same government can raise N4trillion for fuel subs...
I Weep For Nigeria, SAN Faults Pardon Of Nyame, Dariye
Corruption, Finance, News, Nigeria

I Weep For Nigeria, SAN Faults Pardon Of Nyame, Dariye

Justice A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has faulted the presidential pardon granted to former governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and Taraba State, Rev Jolly Nyame. The lawyer noted that he wept after hearing that Dariye and Nyame were pardoned. The National Council of State had on Thursday endorsed the pardon of Dariye, Nyame and 157 other convicts following the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The 12-member committee, inaugurated by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2018 is headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Dariye and Nyame were jailed for stealing N1.16bn and N1.6bn, respectively. He wondered why the Presid...
FG Pardons Ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame Convicted For Stealing N2.7bn
Finance, Judiciary, News, Nigeria

FG Pardons Ex-Govs Dariye, Nyame Convicted For Stealing N2.7bn

President Muhammadu Buhari The Council of State led by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the pardon of 159 convicts including a former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and ex-Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, who were both imprisoned for stealing N1.16bn and N1.6bn respectively. Confirming Dariye’s pardon, the Commissioner for Information, Dan Manjang, told The Punch that the ex-governor had been given a second chance. He added “Every Plateau man is happy about it and we give kudos to the President for honouring us in this manner .We want to also thank whoever that has a hand in making it happen because everybody makes mistakes and you can make errors while in governance. “As of today, he (Dariye ) has been given a reprieve as if nothing has ha...
FG Faults UTAS, ASUU Accuses Govt Of Misplaced Priority
Education, Finance, Labour, News, Nigeria

FG Faults UTAS, ASUU Accuses Govt Of Misplaced Priority

ASUU Leadership The Federal Government has said the non-acceptance of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution by the National Information Technology Development Agency is not a tangible reason for the Academic Staff Union of Universities to embark on strike. Speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents, the Minister of State for Education, Mr Emeka Nwajiuba, said the priority of ASUU leaders should be the welfare of their members and not on the choice of payment platform that government should use. ASUU had declared that its ongoing strike would not be suspended until the government adopted UTAS as its payment platform, implemented the renegotiated agreement, and paid all outstanding allowances. But Nwajiuba said, “They are complaining about the IPPI...
Strike: Drop Your Ego, Accept UTAS, COEASU Tells FG
Education, Finance, News, Nigeria

Strike: Drop Your Ego, Accept UTAS, COEASU Tells FG

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, has advised the federal government to drop its ego and rather embrace the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, as a payment system in the country. The union, in a statement, Wednesday, said, “The intractable challenge created by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, has been a great source of worry and constituted one of the major issues prone to the industrial crisis in the College of Education, COE system.” “IPPIS breaches the establishment integrity of the tertiary institution’s system, undermines the statutory functions of the Governing Councils, and opens the payroll up to unilateral manipulations”, it claimed in the statement, signed by its president, D...
Buhari Writes Reps, Seeks Increase In Subsidy To N4 Trillion
Finance, Legislature, News, Nigeria

Buhari Writes Reps, Seeks Increase In Subsidy To N4 Trillion

House of Representatives President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the House of Representatives to adjust the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to accommodate the projected N4 trillion for petroleum subsidy in 2022. The president, in a letter read by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday, is seeking an increment of $11 to the oil benchmark to accommodate subsidy consumption and other expenses. According to Mr Buhari, N442.72 billion was earmarked for fuel subsidy in the 2022 budget (January-June), but because of the hike in the price of crude oil, Nigeria is paying more for PMS subsidy, therefore, the country will require an additional N3.557 trillion for subsidy. The current MTEF contains $62 BPD. If this is approved, the benchmark...
Peter Obi Warns That Nigerians Now Spend 100% Of Salary On Food
Finance, News, Nigeria

Peter Obi Warns That Nigerians Now Spend 100% Of Salary On Food

Market Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State and a presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated that Nigerians now spend 100 per cent of their salary to feed themselves. He said that Nigeria is in a crises situation and that the Nigerian government needs to focus on creating wealth. Mr Obi disclosed this on Wednesday at the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on his 2023 presidential ambition in Abuja, according to NAN. He also revealed his displeasure with the rising rate of insecurity and poverty in Nigeria, citing that the Buhari administration has been too focused on wealth sharing through its various welfare schemes. Obi warned that Nigerians now spend 100% of their salary to feed themselves, urging that...